At work, one of the head managers asked me to research on what could be the benefits of changing the current source control server (Visual Source Safe) of my project to SVN.
I really don't have anything against SVN, actually I kind of dig it, but in my humble opinion, change to SVN will not bring any significant benefits to the project, and will force us to use some third-party tools to manage the source control from the Visual Studio (we develop using mostly Microsoft tools only).
So, as a first step in my research, I ask you: what could be the benefits of switching from VSS to SVN?
Tool of SVN and VSS The tool was originally developed by a company named One Tree Software which was later acquired by Microsoft. VSS is discontinued service now. SVN, on the other hand, is a free, open source version and revision control system distributed under the Apache License.
Volume Shadow Copy Service (aka VSS, Shadow Copy, or Volume Snapshot Service) is a built-in Windows technology that allows snapshots of PC files or volumes to be taken, even when they are in use. Most backup software programs rely on VSS to perform backup and recovery operations.
SVN is more popular than VSS and has lot's of advantages. VSS is old and outdated.
Many developers nowdays are moving from VSS to SVN. If you will search for "SVN" and "VSS" in Google, it will show you lots of articles related to VSS to SVN migration.
Now, this isn't to say that Subversion is faultless - there are certainly things it could do better, and things it doesn't do at all. But all the people who worked with VSS and SVN most likely will never come back to VSS.
If you will choose SVN. Here is a list of tools you may need:
Here is a great book on this subject: Version Control with Subversion by C Pilato
Version Control with Subversion http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51iwjNGkQdL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_.jpg
Another good alternative to VSS and SVN is SourceGear Fortress which has Issue Tracking system in addition to source control - all in one. Or SourceGear Vault - source control only. Also there is SourceAnyWhere solution. If you need Microsoft solution than go with TFS instead of VSS.
Microsoft has admitted to never using VSS on any of their internal projects (can't find the reference right now though :/). I used it for two years and it was stupid bad. Database was corrupted at least once a week.
Also, one of my favorite things to quote to VSS users is the first quote on Eric Wadworth's page, reportedly from someone at Microsoft:
"Visual SourceSafe? It would be safer to print out all your code, run it through a shredder, and set it on fire."
Definitely go with SVN. VSS is like the nightmares of 1000 demons.
Consider a more modern tool like Git, Mercurial or Darcs. There are plenty of advantages, I'll leave the googling as an exercise to the reader.
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